Reviews

The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future by Veronica Roth

nhi_nguyen's review against another edition

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3.0

*3.5
While there were many stories within this book, my favorite has got to be Inertia . I love the way the plot was set. If I could rate that story alone, it would be five stars. I liked the other stories, but I didn't enjoy them as much as Inertia . Some were just hands down weird.

iamhume's review

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So I thought perhaps it was the audiobook narrator that was making me not enjoy the stories to their full potential, but I am listening to a different audiobook by another author with the name narrator and very much enjoying it.

I think this is an official break up with Veronica Roth. It's not me, it's certainly you. Sorry!

kait_leslie's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

firefly8041's review

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2.0

Hearken and The Transformationist were alright. Didn't like the rest at all.

vibeke_hiatt's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This collection was my introduction to Veronica Roth. I must say, she is a gifted writer and storyteller. Her ability to build worlds for such short stories is impressive. They are also quite imaginative. Despite being futuristic sci-fi stories, they are deeply human, showing that some experiences are timeless.

Having not read the Carve the Mark books, it was disappointing that Roth included two stories that appear to be snippets from that. We are given two stories with no resolution, which is frustrating when trying to read a collection of short stories.

lucija0's review against another edition

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3.0

Inertia: 4*
The Spinners: 2.5*
Hearken: 5*
Vim and Vigor: 3.5*
Armored Ones: 3*
The Transformationist: 4*

As a whole that amounts to 3.67*

charlotte_slater's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

brisk28's review

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3.0

I usually don’t read short stories or science fiction, but it was given to me for free so I thought I’d give it a try. Plus I just found Toni Morrow’s YouTube channel and I wanted to try some kind of science fiction.

emilyb_chicago's review

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5.0

I found the first four stories in this collection incredibly thought-provoking and emotionally moving. They touch on loss in so many different and powerful ways. Told through the lens of science fiction futures, Roth shows the core human feelings of loss … and pushing forward through (or giving up to) that loss will remain the same no matter the technology.

The last two stories are from the world of Carve the Mark. While I enjoyed that novel, those stories were not as powerful to me as the first four.



1. Inertia - A beautiful story of passionate teenage life, overwhelming big feelings, and how important love and friendship is for everyone. I cried. I loved it.
2. The Spinners - this gave me Host (Stephanie Meyer) vibes. It’s a solid family story.
3. Hearken - such a rich world created in such a short time. I want to learn more about this world and yet this is a beautifully complete story.
4. Vim and Vigor - teen friendships are so encompassing, the healing of your heart after loss is such a hard thing for every age.
5. Armored ones - this story is parallel to Carve the Mark and gives more depth to side characters. While it can be read independently, it will be more powerful if you have read and enjoyed Carve the Mark.
6. The transformers - also from the Carve the Mark world, but this doesn’t connect with any characters in the main story line. There is a child abuse trigger warning for this story. I struggle with that and didn’t love this story.

megs2kool's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0